Tag: family

As many of you know, I used to live in Chester. Chester is a beautiful city in the North West, and it’s the first place I lived entirely on my own without my family or any of the people that I grew up with all of my life. I lived in a tiny room in a old fashioned block of flats, and my friends lived directly across the road. Things like not being able to drive weren’t an issue as shops were a ten minute walk away, and as I lived on campus, it was literally a two minute walk to lectures. For that year, my friends became like a family to me. I think that because of that, Chester always feels like home to me in a way that I’m not always convinced Manchester does.

Although I class myself as living in Manchester, where I actually live is Sale, a small town in the suburbs which is technically in Cheshire. Where I live is very leafy and green, and it does feel more like home to me now than it did a year ago. It helps that Rich is here and that my family aren’t too far away, and I do feel as if I’m putting down more roots now that I have a part time job in the city. But then the other day, I caught the train down to Chester for a night out with some of my friends who live there. And I got that feeling as I were going home, as if I still lived there.

Although I’ve accepted that Manchester is my current home, and I’m happy with living there, I guess a part of me will always love Chester. It has beautiful sunsets, it’s where I met my boyfriend, and it’s somewhere that for a short while really made me happy. What I’ve got to remember is that life goes on, and that Manchester is somewhere that opens up a wealth of opportunities in a way that Chester didn’t. I have a lovely flat with Rich, I get to live the cosmopolitan city lifestyle, and I’m closer to my family and hometown.

I think I need to remember that whenever I do travel down to Chester for uni, which I currently do three times a week, although Chester is no longer my home, it’s still there for me when I want it. It was a stepping stone into my current life, and in the same way that my memories are always within reach, so is my favourite city.

Last Sunday, me and Rich took my brother Gabe up to Preston for the Rockprest music festival. It’s rare that we get to see my brother on his own, and so it was great to do that for a change.

We had a bit a of a nightmare getting up to Preston due to terrible traffic, but when we eventually got there, we were glad we made the journey. For those of you who don’t know what it is, Rockprest is the UK’s largest free music festival and all of its acts are rock tribute bands. Entry to the festival itself was free but we paid a £2.50 booking fee which was extremely reasonable.

It was held over two days but we just went for the Sunday, and I’m glad we did as the weather was awful on Saturday but lovely and warm on Sunday. We had a really lovely chilled out day, we sat on the grass listened to the music, had an icecream, and just enjoyed the day.We watched a Fall Out Boy act, a Led Zeppelin act, a Stereophonics act and a Kings of Leon act. There were loads of other bands on including tributes to Queen, the Foo Fighters, and Depeche Mode, but seeing as we had work the next day, we left before these came on at about five. It was a nice change to go to a small festival as I went to Leeds festival a few years ago camping, and although I had a fab time whilst I was there, I’m not really in a hurry to repeat that experience anytime soon, whilst I would definitely go to Rockpress again!

Have any of you guys been to any festivals? What was your experience like?

This post’s pretty self explanatory, but seeing as I’m pretty happy with my life at the moment, I thought I’d share the reasons why with you.

My family– Last year when I lived in Chester, I didn’t get to see my family as much as I liked. This was due to the fact that the only living space I had was a tiny little bedroom which wasn’t great for my family to be able to pop round for a brew! Now I live in Manchester, it’s only a half an hour drive from Wigan, and I have a lot more living space for people to get cosy in.

My friends- I’m really lucky to have two great groups of friends. I have my uni friends who I met last year and whom I’m still really close with, and I have my friends from home who I still see regularly. I know that I could pick up the phone anytime I had a problem and they’d be there for me, so if any of them are reading this, thanks for being fab!

My boyfriend– As well as great friends, I also have a lovely boyfriend, Rich, who puts up with me on a daily basis which is pretty brave to be honest with you, as I can be an absolute nightmare to live with! Instead of getting annoyed with my angry outbursts, he tends to laugh and be constantly laidback which works well against my fiery personality. So if he’s reading this (which he probably will) then thank you!

Warm weather– Here in Manchester, it’s being surprisingly warm recently. Normally it’s always grey and raining, but for the last few weekends we’ve been blessed with sunshine. This has meant lots of fun days out and a tonne of sunbathing on the gardens outside my flat. It’s also been lovely to take a wander down the canal in the evening.

Reading- I’ve got so much reading done recently, it’s been great! When I lived at uni last year, I pretty much stopped reading for the first time in my life. But since moving to Manchester, I’ve started reading at least two books a week. I’m particularly loving crime thrillers at the moment, I’ve recently finished all of Simon Kernick’s novels. Check them out if you’re into that sort of thing!

Cooking- If you’ve read any of my previous posts, then you’ll know that I never used to be able to cook, but recently I’ve started getting quite into it. I’ve been researching lots of new recipes and trying new ingredients out which has been loads of fun. I’m now the main chef in our house too, which kinda makes me feel like I’m stepping into adulthood!

Eating healthier- Since Christmas, I’ve managed to lose around eight pounds which I’m really happy with. I’ve done this by doing lots of walking and by making a few healthier food choices. I’m determined to keep going and get my bikini body ready for my holidays!

Sorting out the flat- Also since Christmas, me and Rich have been trying to make our flat feel more like home. We’ve bought lots of new bits and pieces and done a lot of sorting out through our wardrobes and cupboards to try and make a bit more space. I’m really pleased with the result!

Coffee- This may seem like a silly thing, but coffee is the one thing that I’m always drinking. I know it’s not too good for me, but I tend to drink two cups before I even leave the house in the morning. We’ve just bought a new coffee machine which makes excellent coffee and means I don’t have to spend as much in Caffee Nero as I have all the coffee that I want at home.

When the weekend rolls round, it can be so easy to let yourself just sleep, but the problem with this is that before you know it, it’s Sunday night and you feel like you’ve achieved nothing. Don’t get me wrong, I love a bit of a relax at the weekend, but I also think it’s nice to keep busy and to finally get round to doing all the things that you didn’t have time to do in the week. So here’s what to do to feel super productive this weekend. I promise that if you do at least one thing on this list then you’ll feel a tonne better when it’s back to the daily grind on Monday morning.

Clear out the clutter: Try clearing out your wardrobe, taking out the recycling, sorting out those cupboards, anything that makes your home look a more tidy. I love it when the flat’s perfectly tidy and nothing’s out of place, and I can actually see where everything is. It’s really surprising with how much clutter appears during the week.

Do the shopping early: Get any food shopping done. There’s nothing worse than realising on a Saturday night that you’re really hungry and have nothing in to eat. Suddenly that night of watching a movie and having some chocolate goes down the drain as you find yourself wandering around the supermarket.

Make some time for your family: As I’m normally busy in the week, I don’t really get to see my family in Wigan apart from on the weekends. I try to go and visit them at least once a fortnight whether that’s for a Sunday lunch or just a coffee and catch up.

Enjoy time with your friends: All my friends are also at uni in other places in the North West, meaning that we don’t always have time to meet up because it’s hard when everyone has their own lives. When we can, we meet up on the weekend, because it’s so important to keep them in your life and the weekend’s normally the only time that we’re all free.

Exercise: Exercise is definitely something to try and include in your weekend if you’re aiming to be more productive. It keeps you fit and healthy and I always find it makes me feel better about myself. The last few weekends I’ve done loads of walking and have even attempted going for a run a few times. I have a gym membership that I probably need to use too.

Do that thing you’ve been putting off: Trust me, there’ll be something, whether that’s visiting that family member who lives miles and miles away, updating your CV, or even cleaning the bathroom. Get it done! It’ll be a great weight off your mind and you’ll be able to feel pleased with yourself for finally getting round to doing it.

Have some you time: Even if you are trying to be productive, try and squeeze a little bit of you time in there whether it’s reading a book, reading some new blogs, or catching up on the latest episode of your favourite TV series.